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  • Good To-Go backcountry meals: Nutritious and as good as dehydrated recipes can get

    Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz generally avoids the packaged, freeze-dried or dehydrated meals when he goes camping, but he sampled several Good To-Go meal varieties in the backcountry with his wife, and they agreed the recipes were the best they’d ever tried for this type of food. The meals were flavorful and nutritious, replenishing tired…

  • #AlpinistCommunityProject Flashback: John Climaco

    On October 2 through October 8, John Climaco of Park City, Utah, shared some photos and stories about his time traveling and climbing abroad with the #alpinistcommunityproject. The 47-year-old has been climbing for 37 years all over the world and now considers himself lucky to be taking his kids to the mountains. You can now…

  • Canadians free climb Chacraraju’s east face headwall with ‘The Devil’s Reach Around’

    Canadian climbers Alik Berg and Quentin Lindfield Roberts completed a new route they called The Devil’s Reach Around (M6 5.10, 90°) on the east face of Chacraraju Este (6001m) in Peru in mid-July. It is the first route on the face to be completed without aid, and the two men did it in just two…

  • Carsten von Birckhahn is remembered for his kindness, passion and vision

    Carsten Von Birckhahn–a respected member of the international climbing community and brand manager for Edelrid–died in a paragliding accident in northern Italy on July 15 while vacationing with his wife and kids. He was 49. His friends Martin Kroussottsi (with translation by Rolando Garibotti), Josh Huckaby and Malcolm Daly share their memories of the influential…

  • Front and Center: Patagonia’s 850 Down Sleeping Bag 19F/-7C performs well, starting with the unusual zipper location

    Mike Lewis spent 58 nights in the Patagonia 850 Down Sleeping Bag (19°F/-7°C) and slept well enough to award it five stars. He noted that there are some features that could be improved but he is otherwise impressed with the company’s first sleeping bag designs.

  • The World as It is Not

    During the mid-twentieth century, an ardent conservationist and Cascades mountaineer planted a series of elaborate hoaxes in Summit magazine. He hoped to prod readers to see the mountains in fresh and unfamiliar ways–and to remember the value of wild lands. In this Sharp End from Alpinist 59, Editor-in-chief Katie Ives talks with some of the…

  • Freedom Catalogue

    In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 58, Spencer Gray tallies the amount of resources and human labor required to produce the gear that he used to enjoy a single excursion into the mountains. He explains: “I submit this catalogue as proof of something true of much of modern life: the social and environmental cost…

  • The La Sportiva Kataki: A great shoe for vertical to moderately overhanging rock climbs

    Derek Franz stepped into the new La Sportiva Kataki rock shoes and is impressed with their performance on “tiny little nothings.” He found that the shoes functioned well for their intended purpose of climbing vertical to moderately overhanging terrain. Five stars.

  • Refuge

    Early expeditions often combined the exploration of new heights with a search for rare botanical specimens. More than a century after both natural history and mountaineering fractured into subdisciplines, Associate Editor Paula Wright explores the impacts of climbing’s science gap and the need for a more unified focus on conservation in this Wired story from…

  • Family organizes continued search efforts for Galvan and Zerain on Nanga Parbat

    Mariano Galvan’s family organized a continued search effort after he and Alberto Zerain disappeared on Nanga Parbat (8125m) June 24. The men are presumed to have died in an avalanche at around 6000 meters while attempting the second ascent of the long, technical Mazeno Ridge. Alex Gavan, who knew the men and was climbing a…

  • #AlpinistCommunityProject Flashback: Michael Kennedy

    From August 28 through September 3, 2016, former Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Michael Kennedy shared some photos and stories for the #alpinistcommunityproject about his time in Wyoming’s Wind River Range during the 1970s and 1980s. The series appeared in conjunction with the release of Alpinist 55, which featured the Winds in a story by Paula Wright titled…

  • Boreal Stetind: Light and comfy for slogging, but not well designed for technical climbing

    Mike Lewis used the Boreal Stetind boots for six weeks of guiding on snowy mountains in the Pacific Northwest and reports that the boots have some significant shortcomings in technical terrain. In this review he explains in detail why he awarded them two stars out of five.

  • Summer Outdoor Retailer is moving to Denver in 2018

    Colorado officials and Outdoor Retailer executives announced July 6 that Denver will host the huge, lucrative OR Summer Market trade show for the next five years starting in 2018. Denver is also hosting the OR Winter Market in conjunction with the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show, a merger that was announced in May.

  • Conrad Anker’s commencement speech for the University of Utah addresses current and future challenges for humanity

    Renowned alpinist Conrad Anker delivered the University of Utah’s graduation commencement speech and received an honorary doctorate on May 3, 2017. This is a copy of his speech, which considers the current and future challenges faced by Earth’s citizens, and the responsibility we have to address these global problems.

  • Climbers missing and presumed dead on Nanga Parbat’s Mazeno Ridge

    Mariano Galvan and Alberto Zerain are presumed to have died in an avalanche at around 6000 meters on Nanga Parbat (8125m). The two climbers had gone missing on June 24 while attempting the second ascent of the long, technical Mazeno Ridge.

  • Patagonia Ascensionist 40L Pack: Light, comfortable and functional

    John Easterling used the Patagonia Ascensionist 40-liter backpack for backcountry ski-mountaineering, desert climbing and a few things in between. He was initially skeptical of the pack’s minimalist internal frame, but he found that the pack had the right balance between burliness and weight for technical day climbs or light overnight trips, and he awarded it…

  • Less and Less Alone: Alex Honnold

    This profile of Alex Honnold first appeared in Alpinist 35 (Summer 2011). In this piece, Alex Lowther cover’s Honnold’s sudden rise to fame, from his childhood and the death of his father, to how he balances the demands of his professional climbing career with his personal priorities.

  • In the Bear’s Lodge

    Many climbers observe the voluntary climbing ban at Bear Lodge (Devils Tower) during the month of June as their way to show respect for local Native American cultures. In this Climbing Life piece from Alpinist 57, Nick Mott speaks with Milo Yellowhair from the Oglala Lakota and Arvol Looking Horse, Chief of the Nakota, Dakota…

  • #Alpinistcommunityproject Flashback: Nick Aiello-Popeo

    From September 11-17, Nick Aiello-Popeo shared some photos and stories with the #alpinistcommunityproject. Aiello-Popeo made his first trip to Talkeetna, Alaska, at the age of 20. The trip catalyzed him to become a full-time climber. He now lives with his wife in New Hampshire, where he guides in North Conway. He returns to the Alaska…

  • Katie Bono sets probable women’s speed record on Denali at 21 hours, 6 minutes

    On June 13-14, Katie Bono completed a round-trip ascent of Denali’s West Buttress in 21 hours, 6 minutes. This is likely a female speed record, and it is the third or fourth fastest known time overall. Bono made the ascent in difficult conditions with heavy wind and drifting snow that forced her to break trail…

  • Kilian Jornet completes two fast and light ascents of Everest in one week

    Spanish climber and ultra-runner Kilian Jornet completed two rapid Everest ascents without using fixed ropes or bottled oxygen on the North Col route in one week, on May 21 and 27. He pushed on through illness and windy weather, summiting in 17 hours and returning to advanced base camp in 28:30 on his fastest attempt.…

  • Pulled Apart

    In this Full Value story from Alpinist 58, Rick Accomazzo tells the story of a mission he participated in as a member of Yosemite Search and Rescue in July 1975 that has haunted him ever since–its memory compounded by the loss of his friend and climbing partner Tobin Sorenson in 1980. Illustrations by Andreas Schmidt.

  • Black Diamond Access Hoody: Simple, warm and compact

    The Black Diamond Access Hoody has kept Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz comfy in a variety of temperatures and conditions since January. He’s happy with the jacket except that the zipper started having trouble after one month of light use.

  • #alpinistcommunityproject: Cosmin Andron and Cristina Pogacean

    From November 13-19, Cosmin Andron and Cristina Pogacean shared some photos and stories with the #alpinistcommunityproject. They are two Romanian alpinists. Cosmin is a former philosophy professor turned full-time mountain guide while Cristina, the saner half of the family, is a civil engineer who also moonlights as a certified mountain guide.